Continuing my capsule reviews of each week's DCnU books, now in their third month:
Action Comics #3: Clark's dream of Krypton, wonderfully drawn by Gene Ha, is different from other Krypton's we've seen before but still feels right. And we get a good feeling of how young reporter Clark Kent operated. I like everything about this book but the overpricing (which is knocking it down half a grade). Rating: 3.5 (of 5).
Animal Man #3: Nice creepy drawings by Foreman liven up a comic that needs to pick up the pace a bit. It's nice to see a character in a horror story, in this case Ellen Baker, act sensibly, even if it looks like her actions are going to backfire. Rating: 3 (of 5).
Batwing #3: This is totally not the story to tell for a new character's opening story arc. We need to focus on Batwing, not secret super-hero conspiracies of times past. And Oliver's art is too muddled. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).
Detective Comics #3: We all knew that last month's cliffhanger was a fake-out, so its reveal here is no big surprise. This comic feels like it is treading water and drawing things out. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
Green Arrow #3: Continues to be completely uninspired; the imminent creative team changes can only help matters. Rating: 2 (of 5).
Hawk & Dove #3: Hawk & Dove (with help from Deadman) fight Condor & Swan. And fight. And fight. And fight. Yawn. Rating: 2 (of 5).
Justice League International #3: Jurgens continues to establish the cast and their personalities during the ongoing action , and I juts really like Lopresti's art. Solid super-hero team book. Rating: 3 (of 5).
Men of War #3: Who are these people? What are they doing? What is going on? Why should I care? This comic lacks in the basics of being a story. Only the back-up feature (nothing great, but drawn well and comprehensible) keeps this book from ratings purgatory. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).
O.M.A.C. #3: Kevin gets arrested as a terrorist and taken to a prison run by a big-brained inmate. It's big and bold and colorful, but doesn't ask you to turn your brain completely off. Rating: 3 (of 5).
Red Lanterns #3: My interest in this book, already weak, wanes even further. This book needs more Dex-Starr to save it. Rating: 1.5 (of 5).
Static Shock #3: I have a hard time placing my finger on exactly why this comic isn't quite hitting the mark for me. I suspect it is due to the lackluster villains, or perhaps that McDaniel's art seems crowded. But my affection for the character will keep me reading for the time being in the hopes that it sorts itself out. Rating: 2.5 (of 5).
Stormwatch #3: These are exactly the kinds of threats I expect a team called Stormwatch to be facing. Hopefully we will soon get a 'downtime' issue though so we can spend a little more time with the chracters. Rating: 3 (of 5).
Swamp Thing #3: Snyder's atmospheric script helps paper over any qualms about this re-retcon, but again I'd like to see the story move forward a bit faster. Ibáñez's art pages work seamlessly with Paquette's, so there's no art whiplash due to the partial fill-in (editos take note: this is how to deal with such situations!) Rating: 3 (of 5).
Ratings compared to the second issues: 0 improved; 8 stayed the same; 5 were worse.
1 comment:
Animal Man and Swamp thing are the only first week books that I have stuck with. I am truly enjoying the break from the traditional superhero stuff. Second week pulls for me are Frankenstein and Batwoman. Third week holds no interest for me except for possibly Batman. Fourth week is all Flash and Justice League Dark.
Basically, coming from a solely Marvel world, New 52 got me for six, maybe seven books. Not too shabby. I guess I'm sticking with stuff that involves 2nd and 3rd tier characters, because then I don't have to commit to an entire universe.
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